Manatee 35 Gulf Coast (Naples) 22 FINAL

[gatorman001]

Manatee won which is always a nice thing, didn't really know much about Gulf Coast going into this one. Gulf Coast reminded me of the Riverdale, Immokolee, Pinellas Park teams Manatee faced in the playoffs last year, in that they had good size with a approach offensively that focused on utilizing that size with numbers at the point of attack. While Manatee has some huge holes to fill on its defensive line, I thought the new guys performed adequately, LB's were just okay and the DB's have some work to do this off-season.

Offensively Manatee was pretty vanilla, the OL did just about what you'd expect(dominate most of the game). Played 4 different players at RB, didn't really show anything from a passing standpoint.

Second half saw Manatee do alot of substitution, with Gulf Coast sticking with its starters almost the entire game. Got the feeling the Gulf Coast staff expects this team to be in the playoffs this coming season.

I expect some transfers for Manatee by the time they play their kickoff classic...particularly on defense.

 

[MarkECannon]

What is the breakdown of Manatee’s QB replacement?

 

[gatorman001]

What is the breakdown of Manatee’s QB replacement?

The transfer from Hilsborough HS started the 1st half, and then last years backup the 2nd half, neither is at the level of last year's starter. The transfer probably had the better half passing wise, he helped himself greatly with his ability to move around. Truth be told though the pass protection wasnt the best for either. On the whole the offense was very vanilla, and they really didnt have any issues on the ground regardless of who it was carrying the ball. Keith Smith didnt really see alot of playing time....(I believe the coaches know what they got in him, and will likely be the starter at RB) Canden White rising Soph, while not as quick as Smith is still fast enough and runs with authority and is likely to see alot of carries as well next year. All are shorter than 5'9". The WR's are generally bigger than the RB's. but didnt get a opportunity to show much......At times it appeared Manatee was going through the motions of finishing out Spring, while Gulf Coast appeared to try its best to make a statement for next season.

Personnel wise Manatee's got some issues a LB and DB to be ironed out. I thought the DL despite being all new starters did alright, if not alittle better than alright! Dangler while no doubt the pillar at LB, wasnt necessarily his typical physical self, but is the obvious man in charge defensively. The DB's when Gulf Coast passed, were generally out of position and didnt do a particularly good job with pass coverage. The coaching staff got to see what they needed to evaluate and it will be interesting to see what the transfer market yields during the off-season.